


Learning Something New

by Typhoon_56



Series: Pearl x Amethyst Oneshots [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, One Shot Collection, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:02:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22093012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Typhoon_56/pseuds/Typhoon_56
Summary: A trip to the aquarium leads to some revealations.
Relationships: Amethyst/Pearl (Steven Universe), Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe
Series: Pearl x Amethyst Oneshots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1590241
Comments: 4
Kudos: 41





	Learning Something New

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic in this fandom and the first fic of 2020 so hope ya'll enjoy reading!

'I knew I should have stayed at home with Garnet.' Amethyst grumbled as she climbed out of the car, slamming the door behind her.

'Stop complaining Amethyst, it was only an hour drive.' Pearl replied before locking the doors. 

'Exactly! That's a long-ass time to spend confined in one space. And I don't do well with being confined.' Amethyst said, sounding exasperated as she threw her hands in the air.

Pearl's eyes widened at the purple gem's choice of words, 'Amethyst! Can you watch your language? What if Steven and Connie heard.' 

At the mention of the two kids, Amethyst glanced ahead to see if they had heard her. From what she could hear, they were talking about the latest 'No Home Boys' book. 

'Pearl stop worrying, they didn't hear me. Besides they're both 14 so I can guarantee they've heard worse than that.' Amethyst reasoned, although it provided no comfort to Pearl that Steven may have heard such crude language.

'Still it wouldn't hurt for you to try and be a bit more child-friendly with your wording especially since we're in public.' 

Amethyst opened her mouth to disagree purely out of habit but found that for once she didn't want to cause an argument. 

'Okay P. I'll try and keep it PG today...' Amethyst announced. 

Pearl felt taken aback by her teammates agreement. Perhaps Amethyst was finally becoming more mature afterall. 

'...although tomorrow might be a different story.' Amethyst laughed. 

Pearl simply sighed and shook her head. Maybe she had spoken too soon. 

'Come on guys! Hurry up!' Steven's excited shout broke through Pearl's thoughts and she quickly realised that her and Amethyst had been lagging behind. 

Steven's excitement came at no surprise however as he had been asking to go on a family outing for months now and this was the first opportunity they had to go on one. 

Since it had been quiet for sometime now and the amount of battles seemed to be decreasing lately, the gems decided it would be the best time to treat Steven to a trip. 

Steven was even more thrilled when he discovered where they were going of course. 

_Beach City's Aquarium._

Steven hadn't been before and had always wanted to visit. He would have preferred to have gone with all of the gems but Garnet decided to remain behind in case anything went wrong at the temple and Greg was busy at the carwash so he couldn't go either. 

So Steven asked Connie to come with them instead. Of course her parents had to thoroughly check that the journey would be done safely and that aquarium didn't pose a threat but once their worries were quashed Connie was allowed to go. 

'Coming Steven!' Pearl shouted as she picked up the pace to meet the young half-gem at the entrance. 

Pearl quickly paid for the tickets and handed two entrance wristbands to the two kids. Connie decided to have the one that was neon pink and Steven had the other, which was bright green. 

After putting on her own wristband, Pearl turned to Amethyst who simply held her arm out toward Pearl. 

Once everyone had their wristbands on, it was time to go and explore the aquarium. 

Pearl didn't move right away however as it was time to make a decision on something that had been bothering her all morning. 

'What's the matter Pearl?' Steven asked as he saw the pale gem appear deep in thought.

Pearl crouched down to Steven's height as she prepared herself, 

'Nothing's wrong Steven. It's just I wanted to let you know that you and Connie are allowed to go and explore on your own. If you want I mean.' Pearl explained.

'Really?' Steven said as his face lit up.

Amethyst was a little more sceptical to the news, 'You're going to let him wander around on his own in a new place? Where there are strangers? Okay, who are you and what have you done with Pearl?'

Pearl just rolled her eyes at the comment, 'Look I know that I can be a little overprotective of you sometimes and I'm trying to be less overbearing. Besides you're 14 now and you should be allowed to be more independent when somewhere new.' 

Steven didn't respond for a few moments and Pearl was worried she had said something wrong until Steven launched himself at her and hugged her tightly, 'Thanks Pearl. You're the best.'

Pearl smiled down at the half-gem and squeezed him back before letting go ti stand up again, 'Go on then, get going. Oh and Connie you should ring me if there's a problem.'

'Yes ma'am.' Connie said with a smile and a salute before walking off with Steven.

The two Crystal Gems watched as they walked to end of the coridoor before turning a corner so that they were no longer in sight. 

'Woah Pearl that was pretty bold of you to do that.' Amethyst said sounding shocked.

'Well I can't keep him by my side forever, no matter how much I want to. Besides he'll be okay... won't he?' Pearl looked at the smaller gem with a slightly fearful look in her eyes. 

Amethyst decided to reassure her teammate, 'Come on, with everything you've taught him he can take on anything. And the same goes for Connie. They've both learnt a lot from you.'

Pearl hadn't really thought about it like that but now that she had, she felt less worried. 'I suppose they have. Thank you for that Amethyst. I needed to hear that.' Pearl said sincerely as she put a hand on Amethyst's shoulder.

Amethyst blushed from the sign of affection and decided to brush it off, 'Whatever. Can we go now?'

'We've paid for these tickets you know. We might as well look around for a bit, it might be nice. Especially since we haven't spent much time together lately.' Pearl reasoned, hoping that the younger gem would take the hint. 

Amethyst thought for a moment before relenting, 'Fine, let's go look at the dumb fish then.'

Pearl smiled as her and Amethyst made their way into the aquarium. 

It wasn't long before they saw the first glass containers which homed several types of crustaceans. All of which Amethyst shape-shifted into and mimicked when no one was looking. 

Pearl found it difficult to hold back her laughter at Amethyst impressions, especially when a curious boy came over and nearly jumped ten foot when he heard the lobster threaten to take his sweets. He soon ran off at the thought of losing his confectionary and the gem duo agreed to stop with the shape-shifting, especially when they heard the boy telling his tale about the purple lobster to his mother. 

The pair walked through the aquarium and both felt at ease, a feeling neither had felt in a long time. And with the side-glances they were both giving each other it appeared that old feelings of a different kind had arisen again. 

Pearl was just about to comment on the situation when she noticed the wide-eyed expression on the purple gem's face. She followed Amethyst's line of sight and soon discovered what had captivated her so intently. 

Ahead of them was a darkened room that contained a large cylindrical tank that was filled with fish of all colours, sizes and shapes. 

Amethyst felt drawn to the tank and Pearl followed behind her. 

'Woah Pearl, look at all the fish.' Amethyst said, sounding amazed. 

'Not so dumb now, are they?' Pearl teased as she echoed back Amethyst's words. 

'Nu-uh.' Amethyst replied, shaking her head as her eyes didn't leave the tank. 

'Look at that one P!' Amethyst exclaimed excitedly as she pointed at a beautiful, magenta coloured fish. 

Pearl smiled at her Amethyst's excitement, of course she would choose that coloured fish. 'That one is called a Purple Dottyback. I believe it originates from Indonesia and it's bright colour makes it a popular choice for a pet and.... sorry I'm rambling. I'll stop.' Pearl stopped, feeling flustered. 

Amethyst just put a hand on Pearl's arm and smiled widely, 'Pearl I'm about to say something I never thought I'd say...' 

Pearl felt a little uneasy at that admission, 'Okay?'

'Pearl, please tell me more. I kinda wanna learn more.' Amethyst said through slightly gritted teeth, the confession making her blush. 

Pearl beamed at the thought of teaching the younger gem something, especially when she had asked her to.

'Okay Amethyst. You see that one there?' Pearl said, pointing up at a blue fish that had yellow iridescent swirls and stripes on its body.

'That's an Emperor Angelfish. It lives in the Indian and Pacific Oceans and they eat mainly algae.' Pearl stated. 

'Cool.' Amethyst said as she gazed at the fish for a bit longer before turning to face Pearl. 

'Pearl how do you know all of this?' Amethyst asked, genuinely curious.

Pearl took a moment to think about how she'd phrase what she said next, 'After Rose.... you know. I spent a lot of time in my room reading and I found a lot of books about animals and marine life to be interesting. It helped to take my mind off everything.'

'Oh.' Amethyst said simply, feeling guilty for bringing it up. She remember those days when Pearl would hide away in her room and not come out for what felt like forever. Amethyst had always wondered what she had done during that time, but Garnet never allowed her to go and disturb Pearl during those days as Garnet said Pearl needed 'time alone to heal.'

Wanting to change the subject Amethyst decided to ask about another fish. She soon spotted one that she just had to ask Pearl about.

'What about that one? The one that looks like you?' Amethyst asked as she crouched down to point at a fish.

Pearl scrunched her face up in confusion as she crouched down as well, 'How on Earth does that look like...?'

Pearl trailed off when she felt Amethyst boop the end of her nose and giggle. 

Pearl sighed and struggled to hold back a smile, 'First of all that's a swordfish... and secondly that's just rude.' Pearl said as returned the gesture and tapped the end of Amethyst's nose. 

'I'm only kidding Perogi.' Amethyst giggled as she looked up at Pearl. 

The pale gem was bathed in a bluish hue as the light reflected through the tank. 

Pearl could only gaze down at Amethyst in confusion regarding the intense stare and was about to question it when Amethyst did the unexpected. 

Amethyst leaned up and planted a kiss on the pale gem's lips. It was a chaste and gentle gesture, one that Pearl hadn't experienced for many years.

'What was that for?' Pearl asked, smiling.

Amethyst blushed and rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly before answering. 

'What can I say? I love it when you talk nerdy to me.'

Pearl smirked at that before leaning down to kiss the purple gem once more. 

Maybe it was time to move on and give love another try.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> Kudos and comments are appreciated!


End file.
